Drawer for sewing-machine needles



(No Mode1.)' l sheets-sheet 1.. HB, BSSINGTON. DRAWER FOR SEWING MAGHINBNEEDLBS.

No. 489,558. Patented Jan. l0, 1893.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

H. B. ESSINGTON. DRAWER POE SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES,

Patented Jan. 10, 1893.

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TH: Nonms PETERS co.. worouwo.. WASH u. n

NITnD STATES PATENT HEBER B. ESSINGTON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

DRAWER FOR SEWING-NIACHINE NEEDLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of I'Jetters Patent No. 489,558, dated January 10, 1893.

Applica-tion led J' anuary 26, 1892.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HEBER B. EssINGToN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drawers for Sewing-Machine Needles and Cases Therefor, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in store furniture designed and constructed to contain a stock of sewing machine needles.

It has for its object a convenient means for classifying a stock of needles and keeping the diiferent sorts separate and conveniently gotten at.

It consists in providing separate receptacles for the different sorts or numbers, different compartments for the needles for different machines, in making provision to keep the bulk stock separate from the broken stock from which the needles are sold, in the drawers, and in improvements in the details of construction of the drawer case, as a whole, hereinafter more specifically described.

In practice it has been found very convenient to sell theneedles from the packages, that method not only being the source of a great deal of time lost, but also always causing the handling, more or less, of the needles in the package remaining unsold, and exposing them to rust. And, when the stock is not separated by sorts a great deal of time is lost in determining, when it is desired to replenish the stock, what amount of the different sorts is need. My invention is intended to provide means, in general, to effect a convenient and economical handling of the needles under all circumstances.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference denote like parts in the several figures, Figure l is a plan view of one of my improved needle drawers; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a drawer, to be used in connection with one or more of my improved needle drawers, in which is combined a money drawer and compartments for sewing machine attachments; Fig. 3 is an end elevational View of a case of these drawers, with the end part of the case removed, showing the upper drawer in section, taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. l; Fig. Llis an enlarged sectional view of Serial No. 419,295. (No model.)

the needle receptacles, taken as the view of the upper drawer in Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a similarly enlarged plan view of four needle receptacles.

The needle drawer, as a whole, I divide into two or more [as may be required] sections l, 2, 3, &c., extending from one side to the other of the drawer, one complete section for the needles'belonging to one machine, increasing the number of sections according to the number of machines the needles for which it is desired to carry in stock. These sections, as illustrated in Fig. l, I again subdivide into two divisions A and B, each of which are again divided into, respectively, separate receptacles 1A, 2A, the., for the different sorts or numbers for the same machine, of the broken stock from which the needles are sold, and separate compartments, 1B, 2B, &c., correspending in number to the broken stock receptacles, for the unbroken packages or bulk stock. The number of such individual receptacles and compartments is preferably eight, as shown, making provision, in that instance, for the greatest possible number of sorts or different needle numbers that are made for any one machine. The individual receptacles 1A, 2^, &c., are formed by boring holes through ablock of wood O which is fitted into the front portion of the drawer, and litting into these holes glass tubes D which are of a length somewhat shorter than the longest needle in stock [see Fig. 4] being driven or forced into the holes until the lower end is flush with the underside of the block O, which is preferably of a thickness, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, somewhat less than the length of the glass tubes D.

Corresponding in dimensions to the block O, and placed immediately beneath the same, is the sheet of felt E [see Figs. 3 and 4], so that the bottom of each needle receptacle 1^, 2A, &c., is felt lined, in order that the needles R, which are preferably placed therein point downward, are protected from striking up against a hard surface. Y

Thesize of the receptacles, 1^, 2^, dac., t'. e., the glass tubes D, is preferably such as to conveniently accommodate the quantity of needles contained in an original package.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, at 4A, it is some- IOO times necessary to make provision for shorter needles. To do this and still retain a standard length of tubes D, for economic reasons in the manufacture of the drawers, felt wads E are made to tit into the tubes D and are placed in the bottom of the same above the felt bottom E.

The compartments 113,2, &c.,which,asstated before, are in each instance of a number corresponding to the number of receptacles l, 2A, tbc., are of a size to accommodate a convenient number of unbroken packages. In each instance, the different sections are marked in some convenient manner [not shown in the drawings] to indicate the particular' machine to which the needles in that section belong, and the individual receptacles for the broken sorts and the separate coinpartments for the unbroken packages are also marked to indicate the sorts or sizes they are intended to contain.

In the drawings, I have illustrated acase containing three drawers, the two upper ones arranged,as described,to contain theneedlesof twenty different machines, ten in each drawer. Of course this number may be varied in different sized cases as may be desired. The lower drawer, as illustrated in Fig. 3, I construct with two or more moneycompartments F of a convenient form, a well or receptacle G for holding emery powder, a receptacle II for crocus powder or rouge, and a number of compartments I for sewing machine attachments. The receptacles G and ll are preferably lined with a glass tube similarly to the receptacles 1^, 2^, the., and I preferably cover over these receptacles with a piece of felt S, as shown in Fig. 2 broken away, in order to retain the emeryand crocus powder in their respective receptacles,the needles being thrust through the same.

In order to make the case as compact as possible, I make the needle drawers of a length from front to back corresponding as nearly as possible to the forward and backward dimensions of the containing case T and make the compartments to extend to the extreme back portion of the drawer. In this instance, when it is desired to get at the compartments in the back end of the drawer, the drawer will have to be pulled all, or approximately all, the way ont. In this operation, the drawer will very likely leave the case and its contents spilled on the floor. To provide against this, I construct the drawers with a device, illustrated in Fig. 3, for preventing the complete withdrawal of the drawer, except when it is desired to do so. It consists in forming the upper edge of the back end piece of the drawer with inclined lugs or shoulders K, which extend above the upper edge of the drawer and, when the drawer is pulled out, engage in a recess L cut in the under side of the back edge of the front cross bars M between the drawers. lVhen the drawer is pulled out until the shoulder K engages in the recess L, it will act as a wedge, not only preventing the withdrawal of the drawer, but tending to hold up the forward projecting end of the drawer.

If, as shown, at N, the lower corner of the back ends of the side pieces of the drawers are rounded ott' corresponding to a circle struck from the forward end of the shoulder K as a center, the drawer may be altogether removed by raising the front end of the same, in the lnanner indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

lVhile I have preferably described the lining material ot the receptacles l, 2^, &c., as glass, yet other materials may be used to effeet the same desirable results, the object being to prevent the needles when being placed in the receptacle from sticking into the sides and also tending to guard them from the effects of moisture. And while the receptacles are described as lined, it is obvious that the lining may be dispensed with and the luterior ol the holes, as well as the block as a whole,be thoroughly shellacked or coated with japan to make it impervious to the absorptlon of moisture.

I claim:-

l. In combination with a needle drawer divided into several sections, of partitions in one section dividing the same into compartments, needle wells in the other section, and a felt bottom for said wells, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In combination with a needle drawer divided into several sections, of partitions in one section dividing the same into compartments, needle wells in the other section, a felt bottom for said wells, and felt wads in some of said wells, substan tially as and for the purposes specified.

3. In combination with a needle well-block, of needle wells therein, and felt bottoms in said wells, of, different thicknesses, whereby variable well depths are obtained, substantially as, and for the purposes described.

4. In combination with a needle well-block, of removable glass tubes forming the sides thereof, and a felt strip secured to the bottom of a block and forming the bottom of said wells, substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. In combination with a needle well-block;` of removable glass tubes forming the sides thereof, and extending above the surface ot" the block, and a felt bottom for said wells,` substantially as, and for the purposes described.

6. In a drawer for the reception oi" sewingmachine needles, the herein-described drawer stop, consisting in the combination of a shoulder or lug formed on the upper edge of the rear end of the side parts of the drawer, au abutting shoulder formed in the casing adapted to engage with the lug on the drawer to prevent the Withdrawal of the drawer when retained in a horizontal position, and the IOO IIO

lower rounded-oft corners of the rear ends of In testimony whereof I have affixed my sigthe side parts of the drawer, adapting the nature, in presence of two Witnesses,tl1is 4th forward end of the drawer to be raised Ver- -day of January, 1892.

tieally, when partly withdrawn horizontally, HEBER B. ESSINGTON. 5 enabling the drawer to be entirely withdrawn Witnesses:

from the easing, substantially as described A. RAINES,

and for the purposes specified. J. W. ORooKEs. 

